Member management changeover: this affects you

We are transitioning off of ps1auth, our current member management system, to a new commercial system that offers more capabilities. Transitioning as in, this is happening now, many members have already made the switchover. Here is the tl;dr:

Switching over is easy — takes about 3 minutes

You do not have to switch over

but you will soon lose access to certain equipment if you don’t

Now here’s the just-the-right-length; please-read version…

Switching over is easy

You can do it right this very minute. You should do it right this very minute!

“AD Username” is the username you will use for internal systems such as the wiki and computers in the space. You can re-use your current username. No spaces or special characters, please.

Submit your details. You might think you are now done, but you are not done! You will receive an invoice via email sometime after you register.

We have to transfer your membership details over by hand, so this can take a few days.

The invoice is for the month after your Paypal payments end. Do not worry: you are NOT double-paying for the current month.

Once the email invoice arrives, pay it by supplying a credit card. This will establish a new set of recurring payments.

Cancel your Paypal recurring payments. (If for some reason you can’t access Paypal, let us know, and we will cancel for you.)

To reiterate: the new series of payment are timed so that they pick up exactly where your old Paypal payments leave off. You will not double-pay for any period. That’s it: a short sign-up form, and then pay the invoice. You are done. Crack a refreshing beverage and toast yourself for a job well done.

You do not have to switch over

You can ignore our pleading until the end of time and your Paypal payments will continue to work.* Your membership will renew month after month. People will be born, people will die, the Earth will turn on its axis, for every season, etc. Life will go on.

But read on for a very major caveat.

If you don’t switch over, you will lose some access

Here’s the thing: in one month we will switch the internal computer system at PS1 over to the new membership system, at which point people on the old membership system will lose access to computers in the space. If you don’t ever use the internal computer system at PS1, you won’t notice. But if, say, you use the ShopBot or the Boss or any other tool at PS1 that requires logging into a work station, you most certainly will notice.

The changeover is not that far away. Switch now and your future self will thank you.

As an aside: if you are storing files on any computers in the space, a) keep in mind that there is never any guarantee those files will stick around and b) they absolutely will get wiped out during the member management system changeover, so now is a good time to back those files up.

Finally: we can help

If any of this is difficult you for any reason, let us know and we can make the transition happen for you. Just email help@pumpingstationone.org for assistance.

* Probably not until the end of time, to be honest. Sometime, somehow, PS1 will update its pricing structure and Paypal will definitively die. But you would have to deal with that eventuality anyway.